I wearily ran a hand through my auburn hair, careful to avoid the persistent curl that stuck out of my head, as my amber eyes tiredly stared the white page of my sketchbook lying haphazardly on my coffee table. I was drawing up a blank and seriously needed to submit some more art to the auctioneer of an art auction coming up if I was going to be able to pay my cut of the bills this month. Not that it would be a problem if I didn't, my brother was a popular actor and seriously rich, but I have some…pride issues. I was still feeling guilty about the expensive bass guitar my brother bought me for my birthday. He knew I played with jazz bands to earn a little extra cash on occasion but he didn't need to go that far.
I sighed, resigning to the fact that I might just have to rely on my brother, again. It wasn't even that my brother cared about paying my half. In reality he would pay for everything if I didn't have…pride issues.
I got up and walked over to our, once again, expensive coffee maker. I hit a few buttons and slid a mug under the nozzle. Soon thick steam wafted over the top of the mug and warm, dark liquid filled it up. Once the machine was done, I took a drink, savoring the bitter taste of the dark Italian roast. Being one-hundred percent Italian myself, I have weak spot for anything related to my ancestral country. I leaned against the pristine marble counter looking for anything that would give me inspiration. Nothing (big surprise here) came to mind.
I taken by surprise when I heard the lock turn and my brother came flying in, even though this was pretty usual. He leaned against door, his chest heaving and his light brown hair out of place.
"More fans?" I asked.
My brother nodded breathless.
"You really should try the whole disguise thing." I said.
He blew a piece of hair out of his face before saying "I just might."
He began walking towards his room, opposite of the kitchen, but turned back around abruptly.
"Hey Lovino, tonight there's going to be party because we finished filming the latest movie I'm in. I want you to come." he said.
"Look Feliciano, I need to work or I won't be able to-"
"To pay the bills." Feliciano interrupted. "If you come, think of it as payment and I'll cover your half."
"Feli-"
"Pwease?"
He gave me that cursed puppy dog face and I caved. I can never resist that fucking puppy dog face.
"Fine." I said with vengeance in my voice.
"Yay!" Feliciano said.
He threw his arms up and ran over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and I struggled to escape his grasp.
"Get the fuck off of me!" I yelled, pushing his face away.
Feliciano let go and smiled brightly.
"Oh, by the way, we're going to leave in forty five minuets." He said.
He quickly turned and sprinted to his room, slamming the door behind him. I cursed under my breath, racing to my room to get ready. I was no where near party ready, and I was probably going to use the whole entire forty five minuets getting ready. I pulled on black jeans and threw on a red button up dress shirt. I slipped on some converse and rapidly brushed out my hair. I slipped my cross necklace under my shirt as I ran out to the living room, where Feliciano was waiting on me.
"Let's go Fratello!" Feliciano complained.
"Hey, this was your idea." I said as I grabbed my black leather jacket from the coat closet.
Feliciano was now waiting outside the door and I almost had to sprint just to keep up with him on the way. Feliciano was definitely a partier. I used to be too, but I ran out of time when I became an artist. I was actually pretty excited to be going to a party, since I hadn't been in a long time.
I jumped in the passenger side of our cherry red Ferrari, soon realizing my mistake as we zoomed out of the drive way and down our private road. I gripped the car door tightly as I was thrown backwards into my seat. We got to the club in about ten minuets considering we were going about eighty miles above the speed limit. I quickly pressed the hair that had flown up do Feliciano's driving down before I hopped out of the car, trailing my brother through the front doors.
When I walked in, I was practically thrown back by the loud music blasting through out the club. There was a dimly lit dance floor with body's moving in time to the music with a D.J. set up on a platform in front of the dance floor. Behind it was a better lit bar with several chairs filled with people who were completely hammered. The pungent odor of alcohol mixed with sweat blasted through my nostrils, making me scrunch up my nose slightly.
Feliciano grabbed my hand and dragged me through the dance floor. Bodies pressed against me as I struggled to keep up with my brother as I was dragged through the dancing crowd. Once we stumbled out the other side Feliciano let go of my hand. I stood up straight and found a section full of luxurious chairs and couches complimented with elegant food platters of all sorts tapped off with the fanciest tape I have ever seen. A few people wearing designer brands, like Gucci, were mingling with cocktails in their hands. A tall man with scruffy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes stood in front of the only way into the tapped off section. He was holding a clip board and he tapped a pen on it. I followed Feliciano as he walked up to the man and said "Feliciano and Lovino Vargas." The man checked his clipboard, nodded, and stepped aside, allowing Feliciano and I to walk right in. I figured that this was probably the V.I.P. section judging by the amount of money that was probably put into this.
Some people around my age called out to Feliciano and he bounced over there, leaving me by myself. I sighed as I sat down on one of the plush couches and weighed my options. I could go dance, I could grab a drink, or (god forbid) make some friends. Before I could decide I felt the weight shift on the couch. I looked up to find a tall man with chocolate hair and caramel skin sitting next to me. He had sparkling green eyes and his smile was bigger than any I had ever seen. I raised an eyebrow at him in question.
"Hola! I'm Antonio!" he said with a slight Spanish accent.
"Lovino." I replied, still hoping that option three would be forbidden by god. No such luck.
"Nice to meet you!" he said.
"Yep."
"So what are you here for?" he asked.
"What?"
"Well the V.I.P. section is rented out to everyone who helped with the movie, so what did you do?"
"Oh. My brother was the star so he dragged me to this party and somehow got me on the V.I.P. list."
"You're Feliciano's brother?!"
"Yeah."
I felt my heart sink a little bit. By the tone of his voice, I could tell he liked my brother better. I learned to pick that out when I was young. Everyone likes my brother better, and I can see why. He's fun and nice and I'm anti-social and foul.
"That is so cool!" Antonio exclaimed.
"What?" I asked surprised.
"Now I know two celebrities!"
"I'm no celebrity. That's Feliciano."
"But your art is amazing!"
"You know my art?!"
"Of course. I bought one at an art action once and was so drawn in by it that I couldn't stop buying it."
I starred at him in pure shock. I thought that I was just unknown artist. I felt my face turn red. Antonio noticed my blush and said "Sorry, too far?"
"N-no. I'm just shocked that you know me." I replied.
Antonio just smiled in response, and I became mesmerized. That was until Feliciano came bounding over.
"Fratello!" he said.
"What do you want?" I replied.
"I see you met Antonio." Feliciano said.
"Oh yeah, Feliciano, who was it that you said could be our replacement bassist?" Antonio asked.
"Well, that's the thing. It was Lovino." Feliciano said.
"No way Lovi you play bass?" Antonio asked.
"Yeah, and don't call me Lovi." I said. "Feliciano what is going on?"
"Well…You see Antonio's band played the songs for the credits but their bassist quit when shooting was done, so they needed a new one and I knew that you were pretty good so I figured you might want to do it." Feliciano said.
I stared at him in pure shock.
"Lovi you have to! We need a bassist!" Antonio pleaded.
"Whoa. Why did you not tell me about this earlier? Did you no think this was important?" I asked Feliciano.
"Well, I wanted you to meet Antonio first. So now that you've met, you two can work it out." Feliciano said as he quickly ran away to the dance floor.
Antonio looked at me and flashed me a smile before saying "Come on Lovi! Your brother played me recordings of you playing in the jazz bands and you're really good!"
"He did what?" I asked.
"Lovi! Pwease!"
Antonio's eyes widened and he pushed out his lower lip, morphing his face into the dreaded puppy dog face. I let out a deep breath before saying "Fine." Antonio's face immediately transformed back to normal and he gave a tight hug.
"Get off of me bastard!" I yelled, pushing him away.
"Get it Antonio." said an albino man with a slight German accent.
"Who the fuck is this?" I asked.
"That's Gilbert our guitarist!" Antonio replied
"Sup?" Gilbert said as he threw his head back quickly.
"Gilbert, this is our new bassist, Lovino." Antonio said.
"Hi." I said, giving him my death glare.
"Oh, feisty. This will be interesting." Gilbert said.
Suddenly, a man appeared behind Gilbert with a mischievous look on his face. Antonio was trying to hide some laughter. Soon, Gilbert jumped and spun around to face the man.
"Francis I swear to go that if you touch my ass one more time, I will personally shoot you." Gilbert said.
All of a sudden I kind of liked Gilbert, probably because that is exactly what I would say to someone who grabbed my butt.
Antonio burst out laughing as the two began an argument. The man called Francis had chin length blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and pasty white skin.
"Who's that?" I asked.
"Francis. He's our drummer." Antonio said. "Francis! Stop yelling at Gilbert and meet our new bassist!"
Francis looked past Gilbert and a scary grin crossed his face. He sauntered over to me and leaned in really close.
"Why, he's cute." He said with a French accent.
Without any hesitation, I poked him in the eye. He grasped his eye in pain.
"Don't touch me." I said.
"Feisty." He replied.
"That's what I said!" Gilbert yelled.
I rolled my eyes. I don't know how much of this I will be able to take.
Antonio cleared his throat and said "Well, that's everyone in the band."
"What do you do?" I asked.
"I'm the lead singer and back up guitarist."
I nodded.
"So, welcome to our band, Misfortune." Antonio continued.
"That's optimistic." I said sarcastically.
"It's not supposed to be." Francis said as he sat down on the arm of the couch next to me and tried to snake an arm around my shoulders. Before I could completely annulated him, Antonio reached over and socked him in the stomach. Antonio's eyes flashed with warning and Francis backed down. Well, that was…weird. No one has ever acted to "protect" me other than my brother. Gilbert whistled a little tune and quickly walked away. Francis went to find someone else to harass, leaving Antonio and I alone.
"Want to go dance?" Antonio asked.
Against my proper judgment, I mumbled a "yes" and starred at the ground with a blush creeping along my face. Antonio grabbed my hand, only worsening the blush, and led me to the dance floor. Antonio and I melted into the crowd and began moving to the beat. We were pushed up against each other, but I was beyond the point of caring. The old party animal inside of me had resurfaced. A little while later, the D.J. played a slow song and everyone found a partner for the slow dance. I took this as my cue to leave, but Antonio stopped me.
"Can I have this dance?" he asked.
At this point, all proper judgment was thrown out the window and I accepted. He pulled me in close, and I rested my head on his chest. He placed his chin on my head. We began swaying slowly to the melodic song. I could hear the soft thumping of Antonio's heart beat. It was perfect, until the song ended. Antonio let me go, and I felt a little disappointed. I shook it off.
"Want to grab a drink?" I asked.
"Sure." He replied.
We pushed through the crowd to the bar. When we got there we found Francis and Gilbert passed out next to each other.
"Looks like I'm designated driver tonight." Antonio said.
"I'll probably have to be for my brother too. He has tendencies to get hammered when he goes out partying." I replied.
Antonio chuckled as he took a seat far away from Gilbert and Francis. I sat next to him and wiped some sweat off my forehead.
"What can I get you?" the bar tender asked.
"I'll take a margarita on the rocks." I said.
"Me too." Antonio said.
"Not a beer drinker?" I asked.
"No. That's Gilbert and his brother Ludwig." Antonio said.
I let a small smile slip past my defenses as the drinks were placed in front of us. I took a sip from mine, used to the slightly sour taste by now. After a while, Feliciano came over with a tall man who had neatly slicked back blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Feliciano, as I predicted, was smashed. He was leaning all over this man and stumbling around.
"Hi Fratello. I'm going to go home with Luddy." He said.
"Ludwig." The man corrected with a German accent.
He must be Gilbert's brother. My brother was leaving me, and I wasn't surprised. Well, it was probably better to let him go, even if this Ludwig character was very sketchy.
"Fine. Bye. I'll see you whenever you get over your hangover." I said.
"Thanks Lovino." Feliciano said as he turned around with Ludwig.
"Ludwig's a good guy. He'll take care of your brother." Antonio said.
"He better or I will hunt him down and make sure he pays with his life." I said.
Antonio let out a whistle and took a sip of his margarita. I rolled my eyes at his reaction.
"Hey Lovi?" Antonio asked.
"Stop calling me that Antonio." I replied.
"But, I like that nickname. It can be something only I call you. And you can call me Toni!"
"How bout no."
"Pwease!"
"Fine!" I said before I had to suffer through the puppy dog face again. Antonio clapped his hands in victory.
"Anyway Lovi, I have a question." Antonio said.
"Okay, shoot." I replied.
"Can I have your phone number and e-mail? I need so I can contact you about band stuff."
"Sure."
I took Antonio's phone and put in my info while he did the same on my phone.
"Okay, practice will be tomorrow at eight. Don't be late." He said.
"Wait eight? I have to get home if I'm going to get any sleep!"
I took the last sip of my margarita and quickly stood up.
"Oh right! It's one o'clock. I should probably leave too." Antonio said.
"See you tomorrow." I said as I dashed out of the club. I hopped in my car a drove home, slower than Feliciano but still a decent twenty miles over the speed limit. I threw off all my clothes, once I reached my house, and pulled on a pair of sweat pants before diving into bed.
…
"Where the hell is that bastard?" I asked as I sat at a fold up table in a warehouse. This was where we were going to practice and I had to say, it wasn't a bad choice. It was nice and isolated with tons of space, making it ideal for practicing.
"I don't know." Francis said.
"He says he's on his way." Gilbert added.
"And he's the one who told me not to be late." I said.
Suddenly the warehouse doors opened up and Antonio came running in. His guitar was slung across his back in its black soft case, and he was carrying a bouquet of red roses.
"Sorry, I stopped to get these." Antonio said, gesturing to the flowers.
"What for?" Francis asked.
"Lovi of course!" Antonio said.
I felt my face turn bright red as he handed me the flowers. I mumbled thanks.
"Alright let's get started! We have a gig coming up in one week." Gilbert said.
"One week!" I exclaimed.
"Yep!" Francis chirped.
"How am I supossed to learn the music?" I said.
"You'll be fine. You're pretty good from what I hear." Gilbert said.
I rolled my eyes and pulled my bass out its case, quickly tuning the strings before hooking it up to the amp.
"Here's the sheet music." Antonio said as he handed me the music.
"Thanks." I said, placing it on the music stand in front of me.
The music was pretty easy for me, and I managed to play right while sight reading. I even managed to nail the bass solo in one of the songs, which I may have improved a little bit. After the five hours of practice though, I was pretty exhausted. As I was packing up my bass, Antonio came up to me and said "Nice improve on the bass solo."
"Thanks. It was kinda impulsive since I've played in a lot of jazz bands, not any rock bands." I replied.
"Well, I'm glad you joined." Antonio said.
"Hey Antonio, are you doing anything tonight?" I asked.
I could feel my face turning red as I averted my eyes.
"No, why?" he replied.
"Well, I was wondering if you w-would l-l-like to come to m-my h-house." I stuttered.
"Of course Lovi! But you have to call me Toni first." Antonio teased.
I took a deep breath before saying "Pwease Toni." I gave him the puppy dog face and I could see him crumbing on the inside. I never knew what effect I could have on people if I used the puppy dog face. I might as well use it more often.
"Yeah." Antonio managed to say.
I smiled at my victory. I grabbed the rose and walked to where my car was parked, Antonio following close behind. His car was parked next to mine.
"Just follow my car to my house." I said as I slid into the driver's seat.
Antonio got into his car and did as I had told him to. He parked on the street and walked up the driveway to meet me.
"I don't know if Feliciano is home or not, so be prepared." I said as I opened the front door.
All the lights were off and Feliciano's jacket wasn't in the coat closet when I put mine away. I assumed he wasn't home.
"Just put your stuff where ever." I said as I turned on a few lights and made my way to the kitchen.
"Do you want a drink?" I asked.
"What do you have?" Antonio replied.
"Let's see, we have beer, an Estancia Chardonnay, and a Pinot Grisio Feliciano got at some fancy liquor store." I said.
"How about the Chardonnay." Antonio said.
I pulled out the bottle and popped the cork out. I place two wine glasses on the counter and filled them up half way each. I put the wine away and handed Antonio a glass. We took a seat on my couch and Antonio noticed a half done drawing that I had pulled out this morning and left on the coffee table.
"Wow Lovi, that's good." Antonio said.
"It's not done. It doesn't even have a face." I replied.
"Oh. I thought it was slender man."
I rolled my eyes.
"Why don't you give it a face?" Antonio asked.
"Cause I don't have time."
"Well, you have time now."
At first I though Antonio was joking, but it soon became evident that he was not. I sighed, setting down my drink and picking up the drawing and a pencil. Antonio's eyes glinted with excitement when I did this and began sketching the person. I had an idea. I made slight alterations to the body before I began the face. Antonio watched my every move intently. Antonio soon caught on to what I was doing, but didn't say anything. When I was done, I labeled the drawing "Toni." Antonio's eyes grew wide at the name I gave it. I put the picture in his hands and said "To pay you back for the roses." I could feel my face burning up again.
"Lovi, it's beautiful." Antonio whispered.
"Thanks." I replied.
Antonio placed the picture on the coffee table and wrapped my in a hug. A genuine hug. I felt my heart flutter as I slowly lifted my arms and hugged him back. When we pulled away, Antonio looked me straight in the eye and said "Lovi I have to tell you something."
"Okay, shoot." I said.
"Lovi, ever since I laid eyes on you, I've thought you were special. There was something about you that was different that just drew me to you. The same difference was in you paintings. When I found out you painted them, I fell in love. And now you're in my band, so I'm crazy about you. Lovino Vargas, I love you." He said.
For a second I starred at him in utter shock. He was the first person ever to tell me that, and it felt nice. It also made me realize that I love him too. He was the only person who didn't like my brother more than me.
"Me too." I whispered. "I love you too."
I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and I wanted to let them go, but then again I was stopped by my…pride issues. Antonio noticed and said "Lovi, why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying." I replied.
"Why are you upset?"
"I'm not upset. I'm happy. You're the first person to tell me that they love me." I said, unable to control the tears as a few rolled down my cheek. Antonio wiped them off with his thumb and put his forehead on mine. Before I knew it, we were getting closer, until our lips lightly touched. Once we pulled apart, our faces stayed inches from each other's face. I could feel Antonio's breath ghost over my face.
"Te amo Lovi." Antonio said.
"Ti amo Toni." I replied.
…
I nervously tuned my bass backstage as I looked out the huge audience.
"Relax. It's fun." Antonio said.
"You failed to mention that this gig was going to be a full out concert." I replied sharply.
"What do you expect? When people heard that we were featured in a movie, our ratings went off the charts." Gilbert said.
"Think of it this way, you'll be able to pay your half of the rent." Francis added.
I rolled my eyes and fixed the red fedora that was part of my "costume." I was also wearing black jeans, converse, and a black tank top with a white unbuttoned dress shirt over top.
"Okay, Misfortune, get into your places." One of techies said.
We all descended down some stairs and stood in the center of the squares that were designated to us. Soon the floor started moving upward. Once I reached the top, I was temporarily blinded, but my eyes quickly adjusted. The crowd screamed when we were able to be seen. Antonio gave us the counts, as usual, and we started with the opening song. Once I got used to my surroundings, I realized that I really was enjoying myself. When my bass solo ended I could hear the crowd cheer wildly for me. It was exhilarating. Once the show was over and we had all gotten backstage, I almost passed out. I was tired.
"Don't fall asleep yet, we have autograph signing." Francis said.
I let out and exasperated sigh and put my bass away.
"Lovi, want to come to my place tonight?" Antonio asked.
"Okay." I replied.
We were escorted to the lobby of the concert hall where fans were lined up waiting for us. Now I get how my brother feels everyday, but personally, I don't mind it. I stood behind a table with Misfortune merchandise on it and picked up a pen. They let the crowd near us. The first people I got were a pair of squealing girls.
"Who should I make this out to?" I asked.
"Um, Madison please." One of the girls replied.
"What a beautiful name." I said.
I looked up and saw the girl just about ready to pass out. I signed her and the other girls' T-shirts and gave a wink before they left. I could see Antonio getting upset next to me and I had to hide a laugh before the next girl came up.
"What's you name?"
"Allyson." She replied shyly.
"What a perfect name for a more perfect girl." I said I signed her picture.
Antonio was looking at me now and he was pretty mad.
"Lovi!" he complained.
"What? I'm just telling the truth." I said, flashing him a sly smile.
He crossed his arms and huffed. I spent the rest of the night teasing Antonio and making him jealous. It was quite fun actually. When everyone had left I said "Those were some pretty girls."
"Lovi! Don't ever do that to me again!" Antonio said seriously.
"I'm sorry Antonio, but we have to keep the fans happy somehow." I replied.
"You're going to have to make it up to me."
"How?"
"You have to call me Toni in front of our fans when we say our last goodbye."
"I didn't even know bands did that."
"They don't. But we do."
"Fine. I'll 'make it up' to you."
Antonio smiled big and grabbed my wrist. Gilbert and Francis followed behind. We walked out of the front doors to find the fans pressed up against metal fences that security was lined up against. They all screamed when we came out. I smiled and waved. We were each handed microphones.
"I had so much fun with everyone tonight! Please come see us again!" Antonio said.
"Come on Toni. You can do better than that." I said.
I could hear the crowd swoon when I said "Toni."
"But I thought I did pretty good Lovi."
"Sure you did. But this is amazing. Everyone! Your support has been the driving reason for us to do this. It's for you! And we thank you. Goodnight!" I said blowing a kiss to them.
"Whoa! You're stealing my moves." Francis said. "Anyways, I love you all mes amours!"
"Don't forget to stay awesome!" Gilbert said.
We all stepped down and got into a limo that drove us to where we parked our cars. Antonio drove me since Feliciano needed the car for some actor thing. We should really consider another car now. I hopped onto the passenger seat as Antonio started the engine. We chatted about little things on the way to his house. Somewhere along the line though, I fell asleep.
…
When I woke up, I noticed that I wasn't in my bed. That was right; I went to Antonio's house. I must have been out cold if I didn't wake up. I smell of something sweet drifted into my nostrils. I could hear the low murmur of the T.V and the clanging of plates and dishes. I realized that I was still in my clothes from yesterday, but there was a pair with a note on them.
Incase you wanted to change
-Antonio
I smiled as I pulled on the sweatpants that were a little big a sat just a little past my waist. I ditched the idea of a shirt and went into Antonio's living room with just the sweatpants. Antonio was in the kitchen with his back turned to me, softly humming to himself. I sat at a bar stool and said "Good morning Toni." Antonio turned and smiled that amazing smile of his when he saw me. I smiled back. He walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt myself blush, but it faded when I saw what was on the T.V.
"Antonio look! It's our band! On the news!" I said.
Antonio turned and his eyes went wide. We both scurried over to the T.V. and Antonio turned up the volume.
"The performance given last night by the upcoming band Misfortune has everyone going crazy for them. Chances are this band is the next thing in music." The newscaster said as footage of my bass solo was played.
"That's me!" I said.
"And that's me!" Antonio said as the image switched to Antonio singing.
"We're famous!" I exclaimed, giving Antonio a surprise hug, knocking him to the ground.
"We are." He replied.
I smiled at him and he gave me a kiss on the lips.
"And I have the best boyfriend I could ask for." Antonio said. "Life is perfect."
"It's a good thing our band name doesn't foreshadow anything, I hope." I replied.
I gave Antonio another hug. I was beginning to feel like my life has finally begun, and I guess I can say it's thanks to my brother, Feliciano. Just when I thought I had gotten all of the misfortune, Misfortune turned my life around.